The Family Tree of Jesus of Nazareth

Homily for Tuesday, December 17

St. Matthew’s Gospel begins with a genealogy of Jesus. While it may seem that this Gospel text is simply a test of one’s ability to pronounce all of the names correctly, there is a much more fundamental purpose for beginning the Gospel in this way.

St. Matthew’s purpose in writing this Gospel was threefold. First, St. Matthew wanted to present Jesus as the new Moses. Secondly, St. Matthew was intent on showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. Finally, St. Matthew wanted to present Jesus as both human and divine. It is this third purpose which is directly served by the genealogy.

Anyone within the Jewish community at the time of Jesus would know the stories of all the people named in this passage. The first reading shows us that the tribe of Judah held preeminence in significance. It was of this tribe that David, the great King who united Israel and whom Samuel identified as “a man after God’s own heart, was born. Knowing the stories behind the names in this Gospel text reveals something else. All of these men and women were fully human, both saints and sinners. The list includes prostitutes, murderers, adulterers, as well as faithful and trusting people who put their faith in God.

If this history tells us nothing else, it tells us that we can think we know all there is to know about something, and still God is in charge. It teaches us that the most beautiful and wondrous gifts of God can emerge from not-so-wonderful and not-so-beautiful people and events. For people who have trouble thinking of themselves as not good enough, this genealogy lets us know that it is not about us. It is about what God is doing for us.

God promised the people of Israel salvation; and through the history of the tribes of Israel, God fulfilled that promise. The plan or history of salvation is by the design and choosing of God and is for our good and for our eternal destiny with God in heaven. The ancestors of Jesus are simply men and women who were instrumental in fulfilling God’s plan.

When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we receive his humanity and his divinity. Through the commingling of water and wine in the chalice at every Eucharist, we pray that just as Jesus took on our humanity, we may take on his divinity.